Table 2.
Psychological characteristics by age subgroup
| <40 years | 40–60 years | >60 years | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hearing threshold | ||||
| 0–25 | 54 (13.3%) | 75 (18.4%) | 36 (8.8%) | 0.003† |
| 26–40 | 7 (1.7%) | 30 (7.4%) | 42 (10.3%) | |
| 41–55 | 9 (2.2%) | 24 (5.9%) | 24 (5.9%) | |
| 56–70 | 4 (1%) | 18 (4.4%) | 22 (5.4%) | |
| 71–90 | 5 (1.2%) | 42 (10.3%) | 15 (3.7%) | |
| Tinnitus severity (THI) | ||||
| Slight (0–16) | 11 (13.75%) | 34 (20.61%) | 37 (25.17%) | 0.258 |
| Mild (18–36) | 26 (32.5%) | 47 (28.48%) | 41 (27.89%) | |
| Moderate (38–56) | 30 (37.5%) | 35 (21.21%) | 30 (20.41%) | |
| Severe (58–76) | 10 (12.5%) | 32 (19.39%) | 18 (12.24%) | |
| Catastrophic (78–100) | 3 (3.75%) | 17 (10.3%) | 21 (14.29%) | |
| BEPSI stress score (Kr) | ||||
| Lower stress (<1.3) | 15 (3.7%) | 51 (12.6%) | 62 (15.3%) | 0.992 |
| Moderate (1.4–2.3) | 50 (12.3%) | 107 (26.4%) | 63 (15.5%) | |
| Severe stress (>2.4) | 14 (3.4%) | 26 (6.4%) | 18 (4.4%) | |
| BDI depression score | ||||
| Normal | 43 (10.9%) | 113 (28.6%) | 83 (21%) | 0.858 |
| Mild | 18 (4.6%) | 32 (8.1%) | 25 (6.3%) | |
| Borderline | 4 (1%) | 11 (2.8%) | 9 (2.3%) | |
| Moderate | 7 (1.8%) | 14 (3.5%) | 6 (4.1%) | |
| Severe | 2 (0.5%) | 11 (2.8%) | 7 (1.8%) |
†= greater hearing loss in patients greater than 40 years of age, ANOVA. ANOVA: analysis of variance, BDI: Beck’s depression index, BEPSI: Brief Encounter Psychosocial Instrument-Korean version